Autistic teen speaks out via computer

Imagine having so much you want to say, but being unable to get it out for the first dozen or so years of your life due to severe autism. That's what thirteen-year-old Carly Fleischmann was up against. It must have been incredibly frustrating. Now, however, she's made an amazing breakthrough, thanks to, of all things, a computer.

"All of a sudden these words started to pour out of her, and it was an exciting moment because we didn't realize she had all these words," said speech pathologist Barbara Nash. "It was one of those moments in my career that I'll never forget." Carly has used her newfound ability to express herself to describe her autism from the inside.

"It is hard to be autistic because no one understands me," wrote Carly. "People look at me and assume I am dumb because I can't talk or I act differently than them. I think people get scared with things that look or seem different than them." Speaking to speech pathologists and other therapists, Carly summed up her condition: "If I could tell people one thing about autism it would be that I don't want to be this way. But I am, so don't be mad. Be understanding."

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